Hardships & Love
by AlishaJ
Summary: Finn had just moved to Norfolk, NE with his mom when she got a new job!  I know bare with me  What happens when he finds something that was unexpected  and a turn for the best? Finn/OC. Please be nice! Thanks!


Hardships everyone has them. Some less then others, as others have many hardships to over come. This is the story of a girl whose life has been nothing, but hardships since she was born. Destiny Jay is 16 years old and an only child. So lets begin the story!

"You stupid little, selfish piece of shit!" she yelled at me while standing about a foot away from me.

Even from that distance I could smell her breath, which reeked of alcohol, cigarettes, and morning breath. I just stood there listening to her hung over rampage.

"What's the point in having a kid if she can't even do everything you ask her to do?" Melinda yelled in my face again getting closer this time.

Okay, pause! My parents are Melinda and Tyler Jay. Both of them are alcoholics and extremely abusive! Right now Melinda is yelling at me for not making breakfast for her and Tyler. Yes, I realize I don't call my parents "Mom," or "Dad." They don't deserve it though! Play!

"Are you listening to me?" she screams, and the next thing I know I'm being smacked across the face.

Since I'm used to the daily routine, I just stand and take the beating knowing if I fight back it'll get worse. Before I know it I'm laying on the floor with Melinda beating me. Finally, she stops and leaves the house.

I waited for a while to see if she would come back, but she didn't yet. Tyler was at work, and Melinda wouldn't be back for a while. So I picked myself up and went to get a hot shower to ease the pain. After my shower, I stood in front of my full-length mirror with just my bra and underwear on. Noticing the big bruise forming on my ribs and my stomach, I also realized I had also lost a lot of weight recently. Eventually, I put on my green tank top, jeans, and a sweater to put over my tank top. I grab my car keys, iPod, and cell phone. Once I double check to make sure I have everything I need for the day, I head out and decide to drive around town. I parked when I got to my favorite place, the park. This park was so peaceful. The sound of kids playing and laughing with their friends and parents, the dogs with their owners, the occasional jogger, and finally the way you feel at peace when you lay on the cool, green, and semi-pointed grass blades.

I decided to lie by an abandoned tree and listen to my iPod. Just when the song Just the Way You Are by: Bruno Mars came on, I got up to go walk around for a bit and sit on the merry-go-round by the basketball courts. When I sat down, I immediately got hit in the head with a basketball.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?" I heard someone ask.

"Um… Yeah. I was just leaving anyways," I say quickly and walk away as fast as I can.

I really didn't want to deal with people at the moment, so I left the mystery guy there.

It was the next day, and I had gotten beaten with Tyler's belt last night. The beating was because I accidentally cooked the wrong thing for dinner. Plus he was drunk out of his mind. This morning, while I was deciding what to wear, I looked myself over again in the full-length mirror. The bruises from Melinda were still there and getting darker, and now the belt lashes on my back, arms, and legs make me look even worse. Tyler had also given me a black eye, which looked disgusting! I finally decided to wear an old track t-shirt, baggy jeans, and my hair into a ponytail. I was trying the best I could to cover my black eye with makeup, but failed miserably. Today was a Monday. This meant I get to see all my friends. Plus a whole 8 hours with out "Them!"

When I got to school, I got tackled in a big bear hug from Riley, my best guy friend since forever ago.

"Hey," I greet with a small smile and wince from him hugging the bruises and me. He gives me a concerned look and then greets back,

"Hey! So everyone is freaking out about the new kid, Frank or something. He's apparently amazing at football, basketball, and singing!"

"Wait! We have a new kid?" I ask obliviously, and Riley just shakes his head and chuckles.

We then walked into school with his arm around me.

"Yeah. I thought you would know considering he moved in the house across the street from you." Riley pointed out and I open my eyes wide.

"Oh yeah!" I say finally realizing what he's saying. Angela, AKA Angie then ran over.

"Oh my gosh! The new kid is so adorable!" she exclaims with a big smile on her face.

"Okay! I get it! Plus Miss Ange _you _have a boyfriend remember?" I respond with a small laugh. Angie laughs before shaking her head and replying,

"Of course and I love Grant. I was saying he would be adorable for you! You haven't been with anybody since Danny. Oh he's coming this way! The new kid not Danny the ex!"

After she said this I turned and notice it was the guy from the park. Okay, I did get a good look at him before I darted off!

"Hey," he greeted us as he went to the locker right next to mine. I couldn't answer because I was in complete shock and staring a little.

"Hey!" Angie and Riley both said warmly, while Riley elbowed my side.

"Wait! Aren't you the girl from the park?" he questioned with a curious look. Riley and Angie both gave me this "You better explain," look.

"Yeah I'm Destiny. You are?" I answer softly with a tiny blush.

"Sorry about the basketball incident. I'm Finn. By the way you have a cute blush," Finn apologized and complimented me in the same sentence.

Of course, I'm rendered speechless and left blushing even more.

"Well, we should probably get going to band Destiny. It was really nice meeting you Finn," Angie said saving my butt from even more embarrassment.

During band I could not focus at all, A) Angie kept asking me about the park during every rest and B) I kept thinking about Finn.

"Destiny!" Mr. Franks yelled at me. I looked up and snapped out of my thoughts.

"Oh sorry, Mr. Franks." I apologized and started focusing on the music.

Eventually, it's time for lunch with Riley and Angie. Nothing much happened in second period or third except for the usual homework loads. Go figure! Riley meets me at my locker after Biology and before we head to lunch.

"Hey D. Are you eating today?" he asks quietly while putting his arm around my shoulders. I look at him and then shake my head no.

"D, you've got to eat. You've lost weight. Plus your excuses aren't really working out for the black eyes and lash marks," Riley explains, but then gets quieter when we both see Finn coming over.

"Hey Destiny, and sorry I didn't get your name from earlier," Finn greets with a smile.

"Riley. D and I were just heading to the forum anyways. We'll catch you later." Riley responded with this protective tone and glare towards Finn.

"Oh, I was hoping to sit with Destiny at lunch," Finn stated a little disappointed. I give him a sympathetic glance and let Riley lead me to the forum.

Once we got to our spot in the forum, I gave Riley a glare and ignored him.

"Okay. What did I do now?" he questioned and getting a little peeved. I rolled my eyes and started yelling softly towards him,

"Okay. First don't bring up my home situation at school, second you don't own me, and third what's your problem with Finn? He seems like a nice guy!" I then leave and go to the other side of the forum and put in my headphones. Riley knows not to push me further when I do that.

For the rest of the day, I ignored Riley and Angie, especially Riley. Finn was at his locker when I went to mine after my last class.

"Hey, Destiny. I'm sorry I caused a fight between you and your boyfriend," Finn apologized and gave me a small sympathetic smile.

I giggled a little and tried to explain, "Oh no…. Riley is not my boyfriend. We're just really close, and he's really over protective. Which by the way is annoying. Anyways! I've got a violin lesson and you have tryouts. See you later!" I then close my locker getting ready to leave, but get stopped by Finn.

"You know you walk out on people a lot, right?" he joked and gave me a smile.

"Sorry," I say with a small playful smile and walk to the orchestra room as he goes to practice.

My violin lesson had run later than usual, so I knew I would be in deep trouble when I got home. When I did get home, my parents were gone. I sighed with relief. I made Tyler his spaghetti, garlic bread, and of course wine. As soon as I had everything set on the table, Tyler walked in.

"Hey baby girl," Tyler said while backing me up to the wall after walking towards me.

"Um…h…hi," I stutter out and look away. Pretty much he was in the "Lovably and extremely touchy" stage of his drunken state.

Once Tyler finished his way with me, I went outside for some fresh air. I pulled out my headphones and started crying.

Ten minutes later I felt a tap on my shoulder. I look up and quickly wipe away my tears.

"Hey Destiny. I just noticed you sitting out here alone. What's wrong?" Finn asked honestly and genuinely concerned.

"Oh… it's nothing. How was try outs?" I answer with another question. He raised his eyebrow slowly giving me a worried, concerned, and confused look all mixed together.

"I know you don't know me well enough right now, but I want to get to know you better. Maybe we could even become friends," he said hopefully. I nod and then give him a hug.

"Thanks Finn. Do you want to come in for a while and hang out?" I suggest not thinking about Tyler in the house drunk.

"Sure," he agrees and he follows me inside. Thankfully Tyler is upstairs. I lead Finn downstairs to my area of the house. It has a hang out area with, ping-pong table, a bar (with Mountain Dew, Powerade, and juice), a couch, a flat screen TV, and a nice sound system. Then there's my room, which is pretty big. It has a queen-sized bed, gigantic closet, and a bathroom connected to it. The walls of the bedroom and bathroom are both dark blue with lime green stripes.

"Wow. This is where you hang out?" Finn asks in amazement.

I look at him for a minute before finally uttering my response, "Well I normally don't bring people here. Anyways! Do you want to just play Rockband or something?" He just nods with a smile. We play Rockband for a while until I hear Melinda hollering my name.

"Oh crap! You've got to go! I'm sorry!" I exclaim while leading him out the downstairs door.

Once again he just looked at me confused before stuttering out, "W…w…wait! What's going on? I mean every time we get a chance to hang out you keep bailing or running on me! Can we just hang out once with out any running?" I kiss his cheek and said, "I don't know. It's complicated."

As soon as I said that, Melinda showed up.

"Oh hey Sweetie. I see we have guests. I'm Melinda Jay, Destiny's mom," Melinda introduced herself. Whoa! What did she just call me sweetie? What is she doing being nice?

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Jay. I'm Destiny's friend Finn," he greeted her with a small smile.

"He was just leaving actually," I explained annoyed.

Melinda glared at me and then offered, "Why doesn't he stay for dinner? We're having spaghetti. My husband has already eaten, but we can still have some."

I gave Melinda a dead on confused look while Finn stated, "I would love to stay for dinner, Mrs. Jay."

"Oh please call me Melinda!" she laughed and joked. As they walked up the stairs laughing and talking, I was completely and totally confused on why she was so nice.

When we got to the table, I started serving Melinda and Finn.

"Aren't you going to eat Destiny?" Finn questioned with a worried look. With a shrug of my shoulders, I just shook my head no and sat down.

Eventually, Finn had to go, so I walked him to the door. We had stopped at the door, before Finn left. He stared at me for a bit looking me in the eyes right as he said; "I had a lot of fun tonight Destiny. I hope we can do it again sometime." I nod and walk him out. Knowing that Melinda's nice streak would wear off once I got back into the house.

It was about 1 in the morning and of course I couldn't sleep! So I grabbed my shorts, sports bra, iPod, and cell phone and decided to go running. Yes, I realize it's 1 in the morning and it's a stupid time to be out, but who cares? When I run by Finn's house I notice a window light on. I know I'm a creeper, but wouldn't you be curious too? Finally, I notice a head look out the window so I made a quick dive, or attempt to dive into the bushes. What do you think happened? If you guessed I fell and landed on my bad ankle, you would be correct!

"Destiny? Are you all right? What's with all the bruises?" Finn asked immediately I tried to stand up quickly to run, but fell back because my ankle hurt so badly.

"Looks like you can't actually run this time," he explains with a small hint of teasing in his voice as he picked me up bridal style.

"I'll be fine. Just put me down, okay?" I snapped at him.

"Jeez! I was just trying to help," Finn came back with an annoyed tone. My eyes softened a bite before growing ice cold again.

With an angry tone I explained, "I'm not some charity case okay? I can take care of my self!" Finn then set me down gently making sure my ankle was okay. I winced when I put pressure on my left ankle. When I finally looked him over, I noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt and his hands rested on both of my sides.

"You're pretty stubborn and incredibly frustrating to figure out Miss Destiny Jay," Finn stated leading me home.


End file.
